Tablet Owners Letting Laptops, Desktops Go Unused: Nielsen

Tablets, which weren't expected to compete directly with PCs, are changing the way consumers use laptops, desktops and even gaming consoles, Nielsen has reported.

The Apple iPad and its competitors are changing the way
consumers spend their electronics-budget dollars. According to the Nielsen
Company, tablets are also changing the way consumers use their devices.
Among tablet owners who also own a desktop, 35 percent said
that they now use their desktop "less often or not at all," the firm
reported in a May
5 blog post, citing a survey it fielded this spring. The same was the case
with laptop and e-reader owners. Thirty-two percent of laptop owners said they
now use their laptops "less often or never," and 27 percent of
e-reader owners said the same.

Additionally, 25 percent of portable game console owners have let those devices get dusty since purchasing
their tablets, Nielsen reported-a fact Sony likely already knows or
suspects. In April the company-after a
bit of standing back to get a survey of things-introduced
two tablets, one of which-a dual-screen
model known for now by the code name "S2"-bears
a strong likeness to Nintendo's DS console.

Sony has also shared that in a year's time, it plans to take
second place in the tablet market. First place will
still belong to Apple, Kunimasa Suzuki, head of Sony's computer
division, told Reuters in January.

The Nielsen findings concur. Though newer entrants, such as the
Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Xoom-and more recently the RIM BlackBerry
PlayBook-are "heating
up" the tablet market in the United States, "iPad continues to
dominate the conversation-and the market," wrote Nielsen.
Why the switch to tablets, from the laptops or other devices
they would have used previously? The No. 1 answer was convenience, with 31
percent of survey participants saying it was easy to carry or take with them.
Another 21 percent pointed to the ease of the tablet's interface or operating
system, while 12 percent turned most quickly to their tablets for the devices'
instant on/off feature.

Other motivations, given by 7 to
12 percent of users, included the tablet's size, the ability to use it
in multiple locations, its speed, its light weight and the appeal of its
applications and other features.
In recent quarters, as tablet sales have climbed, many analysts have insisted that tablets aren't
replacements for PCs, and chalked up slowed PC sales to consumer curiosity,
with many waiting to see some long-promised
devices come to market before going ahead with a purchase. However, some analysts are now seeing tablets cut into PC
sales.
"The pad"-as research firm Canalys refers
to the tablet form factor-"represents a real threat to PC and
consumer electronics vendors, as it is capable of replacing devices in a range
of other categories," Canalys analyst Tim Coulling said in an April 28
statement.
To keep this ball rolling, "vendors
should continue to promote content consumption as an important benefit of pads,
especially as ownership spreads to older consumers, while highlighting other
uses of the device and preloading advanced browsers and localized messaging and
social networking apps," Canalys Chief Analyst Adam Daum advised.
"Pad app stores also need to offer a broader inventory of both apps and
content designed to take full advantage of a pad's size and
functionality."
According to Canalys figures, 6.4 million tablets shipped
worldwide during the first quarter of 2011, 74 percent of which were the Apple
iPad. Still, the firm noted that the iPad shipments were down 31 percent
sequentially, as-following Apple's introduction of the iPad 2-consumers patiently delayed their purchases.
With the iPad or iPad 2 reaching 59 markets by the end of
the quarter, "Apple continued with its strategy to dominate the pad
market," Canalys reported.

Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.